more

more

See also: Appendix:Variations of "more"

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English more, from Old English māra (more), from Proto-West Germanic *maiʀō, from Proto-Germanic *maizô (more), from Proto-Indo-European *mē- (many).

Cognate with Scots mair (more), Saterland Frisian moor (more), West Frisian mear (more), Dutch meer (more), Low German mehr (more), German mehr (more), Danish mere (more), Swedish mera (more), Norwegian Bokmål mer (more), Norwegian Nynorsk meir (more), Icelandic meiri, meira (more).

Alternative forms

  • (informal or nonstandard) mo, mo'
  • (Internet slang) moar

Pronunciation

Determiner

more

  1. comparative degree of many: in greater number. (Used for a discrete quantity.)
    There are more ways to do this than I can count.
    • 2014 June 14, “It's a gas”, in The Economist[2], volume 411, number 8891, archived from the original on 6 August 2020:
      One of the hidden glories of Victorian engineering is proper drains. Isolating a city’s effluent and shipping it away in underground sewers has probably saved more lives than any medical procedure except vaccination.
  2. comparative degree of much: in greater quantity, amount, or proportion. (Used for a continuous quantity.)
    There's more caffeine in my coffee than in the coffee you get in most places.
    • 2013 June 29, “A punch in the gut”, in The Economist[3], volume 407, number 8842, pages 72–3:
      Mostly, the microbiome is beneficial. It helps with digestion and enables people to extract a lot more calories from their food than would otherwise be possible. Research over the past few years, however, has implicated it in diseases from atherosclerosis to asthma to autism.
  3. Additional; further.
    If you run out, there are more bandages in the first aid cupboard.
    More people are arriving.
    I want more soup.
    I need more time.
  4. Bigger, stronger, or more valuable.
    He is more than the ten years he spent behind bars at our local prison, as he is a changed man and his past does not define him.
Antonyms
Derived terms
Translations

Adverb

more

  1. To a greater degree or extent. [from 10thc.]
    I like cake, but I like chocolate more.
    I could no more climb that than fly!
    More advanced students.
    I have more than carried out my obligation.
    I have no complaints and no more does my mom.
    • 2013 July 19, Ian Sample, “Irregular bedtimes may affect children's brains”, in The Guardian Weekly[4], volume 189, number 6, archived from the original on 5 March 2016, page 34:
      Irregular bedtimes may disrupt healthy brain development in young children, according to a study of intelligence and sleeping habits.  ¶ Going to bed at a different time each night affected girls more than boys, but both fared worse on mental tasks than children who had a set bedtime, researchers found.
  2. Used to form the comparative form of adjectives and adverbs. [from 13thc.]
    You're a great deal more beautiful than I ever imagined.
    I am much more eager to help than you.
    • 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter V, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:
      Then we relapsed into a discomfited silence, and wished we were anywhere else. But Miss Thorn relieved the situation by laughing aloud, and with such a hearty enjoyment that instead of getting angry and more mortified we began to laugh ourselves, and instantly felt better.
    • 2013 July-August, Henry Petroski, “Geothermal Energy”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 4:
      Ancient nomads, wishing to ward off the evening chill and enjoy a meal around a campfire, had to collect wood and then spend time and effort coaxing the heat of friction out from between sticks to kindle a flame. With more settled people, animals were harnessed to capstans or caged in treadmills to turn grist into meal.
  3. (now poetic) In negative constructions: any further, any longer; any more. [from 10thc.]
    • 1470–1485 (date produced), Thomas Malory, “Capitulum ii”, in [Le Morte Darthur], book XV, [London: [] by William Caxton], published 31 July 1485, →OCLC; republished as H[einrich] Oskar Sommer, editor, Le Morte Darthur [], London: David Nutt, [], 1889, →OCLC:
      Than was there pees betwyxte thys erle and thys Aguaurs, and grete surete that the erle sholde never warre agaynste hym more.
      (please add an English translation of this quotation)
  4. (now dialectal, humorous or proscribed) Used in addition to an inflected comparative form. [from 13thc.; standard until 18thc.]
    I was more better at English than you.
Derived terms
Translations
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Pronoun

more

  1. A greater number or quantity (of something).
    We’re running out of napkins. I should have bought more.
    There isn’t enough salt in this. You need to add more.
    I'd love to see more of Bob and Linda.
  2. An extra or additional quantity (of something).
    There aren’t many people here yet, but more should be arriving soon.
    • 2016, Arun P. Mukherjee, “English Studies in Contemporary India”, in M. Sridhar, Sunita Mishra, editors, Language Policy and Education in India: Documents, Contexts and Debates, page 254:
      Speaking about Canada, where I teach, while the canon remains the raison d’etre of the discipline, some changes have come about and more are in the offing.
Derived terms

Adjective

more

  1. comparative degree of many: in greater number. (Used for a discrete quantity.)
    Last year’s applications received from new and returning students were more than each of the previous four years.
  2. comparative degree of much: in greater quantity, amount, or proportion. (Used for a continuous quantity.)

See also

Etymology 2

    From Middle English more, moore (root), from Old English more, moru (carrot, parsnip) from Proto-West Germanic *morhā, from Proto-Germanic *murhǭ (carrot), from Proto-Indo-European *merk- (edible herb, tuber).

    Akin to Old Saxon moraha (carrot), Old High German morha, moraha (root of a plant or tree) (German Möhre (carrot), Morchel (mushroom, morel)). More at morel.

    Alternative forms

    Noun

    more (plural mores)

    1. (obsolete) A carrot; a parsnip.
    2. (dialectal) A root; stock.
    3. (dialectal) A plant; flower; shrub.

    Etymology 3

    From Middle English moren, from the noun. See above.

    Verb

    more (third-person singular simple present mores, present participle moring, simple past and past participle mored)

    1. (transitive) To root up.

    Etymology 4

      Back-formation from mores.

      Pronunciation

      • IPA(key): /ˈmɔː.ɹeɪ/
      • Rhymes: -ɔːɹeɪ

      Noun

      more (plural mores)

      1. (nonstandard) singular of mores
        • 1996, Michael J. Bugeja, “[Influence] The Impact of Social Mores”, in Living Ethics: Developing Values in Mass Communication, Boston, Mass.: Allyn and Bacon, →ISBN, part I (Building Your Ethical Base), page 15:
          In the 1990s, smoking is considered dumb and a symbol of bad health habits, replete with the Surgeon General’s warnings. But even this belief is a social more, subject to time. Maybe some future society will consider smoking brave—a symbolic affront to Big Brother government—or cowardly—a cop-out to avoid some type of community service.
        • 2004, Robert S. Pomeroy, John E. Parks, Lani M. Watson, “[The MPA management effectiveness indicators] The socio-economic indicators”, in How Is Your MPA Doing? A Guidebook of Natural and Social Indicators for Evaluating Marine Protected Area Management Effectiveness (IUCN Programme on Protected Areas), Gland; Cambridge: International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, →ISBN, page 122:
          A value is a social more or norm manifested as a result of history and culture. It is a shared understanding among people of what is good, desirable or just.
        • 2008, David R. Caruso, “Emotions and the Ability Model of Emotional Intelligence”, in Robert J. Emmerling, Vinod K. Shanwal, Manas K[umar] Mandal, editors, Emotional Intelligence: Theoretical and Cultural Perspectives, New York, N.Y.: Nova Science Publishers, Inc., →ISBN, page 7:
          Given that emotions such as shame, guilt, embarrassment and others involve a violation of a social more or rule, these are often called the social emotions, self-conscious emotions or secondary emotions.
        • 2008, Barak A. Salmoni, Paula Holmes-Eber, “[Dimension Five – Belief Systems] Some Features of Belief Systems”, in Operational Culture for the Warfighter: Principles and Applications, Quantico, Va.: Marine Corps University Press, →ISBN, part II (Five Operational Culture Dimensions for Planning and Execution), page 189:
          In a seeming paradox, however, broken taboos may not always carry the heavy repercussions of violations of a social more.

      Anagrams

      Albanian

      Etymology 1

      According to Orel from the aoristic form of marr without a clear sense development. It could also be a remnant of a grammatical structure of a lost substrate language, which may be the source of the same interjection found in all Balkan languages.[1] Alternatively, from Greek μωρέ (moré, mate, interjection, literally stupid!), a frozen vocative of μωρός (mōrós). In that case, it may be a doublet of bre.

      Interjection

      more

      1. man!, mate!, dude!, bro! (vocative particle used in a call to a man)
      Usage notes

      Can be placed before or after the noun, whereas bre can only be placed after.

      Alternative forms
      Descendants
      • Ottoman Turkish: موره (more)[2]

      Etymology 2

      Probably borrowed from Southern Slavic море ("sea").

      Pronunciation

      • IPA(key): [ˈmo.re]

      Adjective

      more

      1. dark blue[3] Glossed as Polish szafirowe by Simon Kazanxhiu (ca. 1820).
      Alternative forms
      Synonyms

      References

      1. ^ Albanische Etymologien (Untersuchungen zum albanischen Erbwortschatz), Bardhyl Demiraj, Leiden Studies in Indo-European 7; Amsterdam - Atlanta 1997
      2. ^ Redhouse, James W. (1890), “موره”, in A Turkish and English Lexicon[1], Constantinople: A. H. Boyajian, page 2028
      3. ^ ngjyrë more (ngjyrë e kaltër e mbyllur), in: Fadil Sulejmani: Lindja, martesa dhe mortja në malësitë e Tetovës, 1988, faqja 174.

      Basque

      Pronunciation

      • IPA(key): /moɾe/ [mo.ɾe]
      • Audio:(file)
      • Rhymes: -oɾe, -e
      • Hyphenation: mo‧re

      Noun

      more inan

      1. purple
        Synonym: ubel

      Declension

      Declension of more (inan V-stem)
      indefinite singular plural proximal plural
      absolutive more morea moreak moreok
      ergative morek moreak moreek moreok
      dative moreri moreari moreei moreoi
      genitive moreren morearen moreen moreon
      comitative morerekin morearekin moreekin moreokin
      causative morerengatik morearengatik moreengatik moreongatik
      benefactive morerentzat morearentzat moreentzat moreontzat
      instrumental morez moreaz moreez moreotaz
      inessive moretan morean moreetan moreotan
      locative moretako moreko moreetako moreotako
      allative moretara morera moreetara moreotara
      terminative moretaraino moreraino moreetaraino moreotaraino
      directive moretarantz morerantz moreetarantz moreotarantz
      destinative moretarako morerako moreetarako moreotarako
      ablative moretatik moretik moreetatik moreotatik
      partitive morerik
      prolative moretzat

      See also

      Colors in Basque · koloreak (layout · text)
           zuri      gris      beltz
                   gorri              laranja; marroi              hori
                                berde             
                                oztin              urdin
                   ubel              more              arrosa

      References

      • more”, in Orotariko Euskal Hiztegia [General Basque Dictionary], Euskaltzaindia, 1987–2005
      • more”, in Euskaltzaindiaren Hiztegia [Dictionary of the Basque Academy] (in Basque), Euskaltzaindia [Royal Academy of the Basque Language]

      Czech

      Pronunciation

      • IPA(key): [ˈmorɛ]

      Noun

      more

      1. vocative singular of mor

      Danish

      Etymology

      Derived from moro (fun), which may be a compound of mod, from Old Norse móðr (mind) and ro, from (rest).

      Pronunciation

      • IPA(key): /ˈmoːʌ/

      Verb

      more (imperative mor, infinitive at more, present tense morer, past tense morede, perfect tense moret)

      1. To amuse, entertain
      2. (reflexive) to have fun; to enjoy oneself

      Conjugation

      Conjugation of more
      active passive
      present morer
      past morede
      infinitive more
      imperative mor
      participle
      present -
      past moret
      (auxiliary verb have)
      gerund

      Derived terms

      References

      Dutch

      Etymology

      From Latin mora.

      Pronunciation

      • IPA(key): /ˈmoː.rə/
      • Audio:(file)
      • Hyphenation: mo‧re

      Noun

      more m or f (plural moren, diminutive moretje n)

      1. the unit of length (short or long) in poetic metre

      Anagrams

      French

      Pronunciation

      Noun

      more f (plural mores)

      1. (phonology) mora

      Adjective

      more (plural mores)

      1. (dated) alternative spelling of maure

      Further reading

      Anagrams

      Friulian

      Pronunciation

      Noun

      more f (plural moris)

      1. mulberry

      Noun

      more f (plural moris)

      1. (phonology) mora

      Galician

      Verb

      more

      1. inflection of morar:
        1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
        2. third-person singular imperative

      Italian

      Pronunciation

      • IPA(key): /ˈmɔ.re/[1]
      • Rhymes: -ɔre
      • Hyphenation: mò‧re

      Noun

      more f

      1. plural of mora

      Adjective

      more

      1. feminine plural of moro

      Verb

      more

      1. (slang) third-person singular present indicative of morire

      Alternative forms

      References

      1. ^ more in Luciano Canepari, Dizionario di Pronuncia Italiana (DiPI)

      Anagrams

      Latin

      Pronunciation

      Noun

      mōre m

      1. ablative singular of mōs (manner, custom)

      References

      Latvian

      Noun

      more f (5 declension, male equivalent moris)

      1. (archaic) black woman, blackamoor, black moor

      Declension

      Declension of more (5th)
      singular
      (vienskaitlis)
      plural
      (daudzskaitlis)
      nominative more mores
      genitive mores moru
      dative morei morēm
      accusative mori mores
      instrumental mori morēm
      locative morē morēs
      vocative more mores

      Māori

      Noun

      more

      1. taproot

      Synonyms

      • tāmore

      Further reading

      • John C. Moorfield (2011), “more”, in Te Aka: Māori–English, English–Māori Dictionary and Index[5], 3rd edition, Longman/Pearson Education New Zealand, →ISBN

      Middle English

      Etymology 1

        Inherited from Old English māra, from Proto-West Germanic *maiʀō, from Proto-Germanic *maizô.

        Alternative forms

        Pronunciation

        • IPA(key): /ˈmɔ̝ːr(ə)/
        • IPA(key): /ˈmɑːrə/ (Early Middle English)
        • IPA(key): /maːr/ (Northern)

        Determiner

        more

        1. more
        Descendants
        References

        Etymology 2

          Inherited from Old English more and moru (carrot, parsnip),[1] from Proto-West Germanic *morhā, *morhu, from Proto-Germanic *murhǭ, *murhō.

          Alternative forms

          Pronunciation

          • IPA(key): /ˈmɔ̞ːr(ə)/[2]

          Noun

          more (plural mores or (early) moren)

          1. root (of a plant)
            Synonym: rote
          2. (rare) root, (of a hair, tooth, or tongue)
          3. (figuratively, rare) source, root
          Descendants
          • English: more (dialectal)
          References
          1. ^ mōr(e, n.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
          2. ^ Goering, Nelson (30 July 2025), “A sound change that never was: h-loss and vowel lengthening in Old English”, in English Language & Linguistics, Cambridge University Press, →DOI, →ISSN, →OCLC, pages 1-21.

          Norwegian Bokmål

          Etymology

          (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

          Pronunciation

          • Audio:(file)

          Verb

          more (present tense morer, past tense mora or moret, past participle mora or moret)

          1. amuse, entertain

          Old English

          Etymology

          From Proto-West Germanic *morhā, from Proto-Germanic *murhǭ (carrot). Cognate with Old Saxon moraha (carrot), Old High German moraha (German Möhre).

          Pronunciation

          • IPA(key): /ˈmo.re/

          Noun

          more f

          1. carrot
          2. parsnip

          Declension

          Weak n-stem:

          Derived terms

          Descendants

          Portuguese

          Pronunciation

           

          Verb

          more

          1. inflection of morar:
            1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
            2. third-person singular imperative

          Serbo-Croatian

          Pronunciation

          • IPA(key): /môːre/
          • Hyphenation: mo‧re

          Etymology 1

          Inherited from Proto-Slavic *moře, from Proto-Balto-Slavic *mári, from Proto-Indo-European *móri.

          Noun

          mȏre n (Cyrillic spelling мо̑ре, relational adjective mòrskī)

          1. sea
            od mora do Zlatiborafrom the sea to Zlatibor (the territory of Zeta Banovina, i.e. greater Montenegro, comprising the Ijekavian part of Serbia)
            od Timoka do mora Crnogafrom Timok to the Black Sea (the location of Stara Planina)
          2. (by extension, preceded by preposition na) seaside or shore (any area or place near the sea where the sea is seen as the defining feature)
            Čim dođe ljeto, idemo na more!Once the summer is here, we're gonna go to the seaside!
            Cijelo ljeto ću provesti na moru.I will spend the entire summer at the shore.
          3. (figurative) a vast expanse or quantity of something, usually detrimental or unwelcome
            Ako se ne pozabavimo time sada, biti ćemo u moru nevolja!
            If we do not deal with that now, we will be in a sea of troubles!
          Declension
          Declension of more
          singular plural
          nominative more mora
          genitive mora mora
          dative moru morima
          accusative more mora
          vocative more mora
          locative moru morima
          instrumental morem morima

          Synonyms

          See also

          Etymology 2

          From Greek μωρέ (moré). Possible doublet of bre.

          Interjection

          mȏre (Cyrillic spelling мо̑ре)

          1. (Serbia) when spoken sharply, asserts that the speaker is stronger or older or more powerful than the addressee, sometimes expressing contempt or superiority
            • 1824, recorded by Vuk Stefanović Karadžić, Narodne srpske pjesme:
              »More, Marko, ne ori drumova!« / »More, Turci, ne gaz’te oranja!«
              »More, Marko, don’t plow up our roads!« / »More, Turks, don’t walk on my plowing!«
          2. (Serbia) when not spoken sharply, functions as a term of endearment or generic intensifier, cf. bre
          Usage notes

          More is most often used in addressing a single male, more rarely when addressing groups of males, and more rarely still when addressing females.

          References

          • Tomislav Maretić, editor (1911–1916), “mȍre 1”, in Rječnik hrvatskoga ili srpskoga jezika[6] (in Serbo-Croatian), volume 7, Zagreb: JAZU, page 4

          Etymology 3

          Interjection

          more (Cyrillic spelling море)

          1. (Croatia, Kajkavian, colloquial) alternative form of može

          Noun

          more (Cyrillic spelling море)

          1. inflection of mora:
            1. genitive singular
            2. nominative/accusative/vocative plural

          Verb

          more (Cyrillic spelling море)

          1. third-person plural present of moriti

          Slovak

          Etymology

          Inherited from Proto-Slavic *moře.

          Pronunciation

          • IPA(key): /mɔre/, [ˈmɔre]
          • Rhymes: -ɔre
          • Hyphenation: mo‧re
          • Audio (Bratislava):(file)

          Noun

          more n

          1. a body of salt water, sea
          2. (colloquial) a huge amount, plenty (+genitive)
            máme more časuwe have plenty of time

          Declension

          Declension of more
          (pattern srdce)
          singularplural
          nominativemoremoria
          genitivemoramorí
          dativemorumoriam
          accusativemoremoria
          locativemorimoriach
          instrumentalmorommorami

          Derived terms

          Further reading

          • more”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2003–2026

          Spanish

          Pronunciation

          • IPA(key): /ˈmoɾe/ [ˈmo.ɾe]
          • Rhymes: -oɾe
          • Syllabification: mo‧re

          Verb

          more

          1. inflection of morar:
            1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
            2. third-person singular imperative

          Tswana

          Etymology

          From Proto-Bantu *mʊ̀tɪ́

          Pronunciation

          • IPA(key): /mʊ́ˈrɪ/

          Noun

          more class 3 (plural mere)

          1. tree
            Synonym: setlhare
          2. medicine

          Welsh

          Pronunciation

          Noun

          more

          1. nasal mutation of bore (morning)

          Mutation

          Mutated forms of bore
          radical soft nasal aspirate
          bore fore more unchanged

          Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Welsh.
          All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

          Yola

          Alternative forms

          Etymology

          From Middle English more, from Old English māra.

          Pronunciation

          • IPA(key): /mɔːr/, /mɔː/

          Adjective

          more

          1. more
            • 1867, “A YOLA ZONG”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 8, page 86:
              More trolleen, an yalpeen, an moulteen away.
              More rolling and spewing, and pining away.

          References

          • Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828), William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, page 86